We expected a definitive handheld experience. What we got was a stuttering mess that fails to utilize the new hardware.
As a gamer who is generally easy to please, I don’t ask for the moon. When I saw that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had received an official upgrade patch for the newly released Nintendo Switch 2, I was genuinely thrilled.
Being a handheld enthusiast, there is something magical about playing massive third-party RPGs on a portable device. Since I already owned the Anniversary Edition DLC, this next-gen update was free. Naturally, I dove in immediately, hoping for the definitive portable Skyrim experience.
My excitement, however, was short-lived.
Visual Fidelity: Identical to the Past
Upon starting a new save file and stepping out into the frosty air of Skyrim, I immediately noticed… nothing.
To my eye, the game looks virtually identical to the version running on my Nintendo Switch OLED. I searched for higher-resolution textures, improved draw distances, or better lighting effects that would justify the “Switch 2 Upgrade” label. They simply aren’t there. If you were hoping for a graphical overhaul that takes advantage of the Switch 2’s increased horsepower, you will be sorely disappointed.
Performance: The 60FPS Failure
The visuals could be forgiven if the performance was stellar. After all, frame rate is king in action RPGs. But this is where the experience truly falls apart.
Instead of a buttery smooth experience, I found the game to be a downgrade. It controls sluggishly and performs noticeably worse than its predecessor in certain scenarios.
For a title that is over a decade old, the failure to achieve a stable 60fps on the significantly more powerful Nintendo Switch 2 is baffling and, quite frankly, unacceptable. We are talking about a game from 2011. While I can understand performance constraints with modern, demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Skyrim is fully capable of running at high frame rates on this caliber of hardware.
The Verdict: A Cynical Re-release?
The so-called “upgrade” offers no visual benefits and introduces new performance instability. It feels less like a labor of love and more like a cynical attempt to keep the game in the “New Releases” section without delivering meaningful improvements.
Even going in with low expectations—expecting just a stable frame rate and perhaps faster load times—the result is profoundly disappointing. If you have the option, you might actually have a better time playing the backward-compatible version on older hardware than dealing with this unoptimized patch.
Have you tried the Skyrim update on the new console? Is your performance better than mine? Share your experience below.
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies.
Just once, I wish Todd would be honest with us.
I’m easy to please, and even I’m disappointed.
Lies of P is excellent. I should pick up the DLC soon.
I never buy remasters because they’re usually just cash grabs. The only exception I can think of is Metroid Prime, which honestly should have been marketed as a remake.
I understand your perspective, though I don’t fully agree. While not all of their releases are cash grabs, there are certainly a fair number that are.
I don’t understand the decision to prioritize visuals over performance. Achieving a stable 60fps would be far more impressive, as the visual upgrades are barely noticeable. It’s a truly baffling choice.
Are we sure they focused on visuals? I can’t tell much of a difference. What did they actually focus on with this “upgrade”?
It’s a choppy mess. They’ve boosted the vegetation and lighting effects without addressing the core issues. In handheld mode, the game doesn’t even run at native 1080p, likely using upscaling that results in a blurry image during movement.
The game is incredibly choppy. I’m playing now and it’s not a smooth experience; I don’t feel fully in control. It’s a stark contrast to playing on my Switch OLED, where I could sit for hours without any issues.
Given the age of Skyrim, there is no reason it shouldn’t run at 60fps on the Switch 2. It feels like a lazy cash grab from Bethesda.
It’s heartbreaking. There are people with incredible skills in this field, but because they aren’t part of these large corporations, we miss out on true innovation for the sake of pure profit.
Just look at the modding community. They do so much for free. Imagine what they could accomplish if they were paid. They are the entire reason Skyrim is still played today. I’ve seen RPGs come and go, but because of modder support, Skyrim is still alive. In response to the community that built its foundation, Bethesda did the bare minimum, rereleasing a 14-year-old game with practically no innovation and underwhelming quality.
It’s genuinely heartbreaking. I was hesitant to say much, because the gaming community can be so toxic, but I truly love Skyrim and my Switch. There’s something magical about lying in bed with just the glow of a handheld screen.
It reminds me of being a kid, playing Pokémon on my green Game Boy Color on my grandparents’ screened porch. All I had was the glow of the screen and the sound of cicadas.
I do want to note that some modders are paid through the Creation Club. But your point still stands. It’s wild that modders accomplish so much where Bethesda falls short. To some degree, I understand—Bethesda can’t focus on just one or two things when they have other games to develop. Resources like time, people, and money are limited.
But that reasoning starts to wear thin when modders consistently outshine them, time and time again.
If you mod the game, you lose the ability to switch between characters.
Mod the Switch or the game? Neither is true unless you mod the Switch to cheat online.
The new version looks significantly better than the NS1 version, with major improvements to lighting, textures, vegetation, resolution, and reflections.
I feel the same way.
When I saw there was an upgrade, I immediately imagined crisp visuals and 60fps, and got excited for another 100 hours in Skyrim. Instead, I got the same thing I already had, but worse. I shouldn’t be so disappointed, but I am. Between this, my surprising dislike of Starfield (and I’m easy to please), and the issues with the New Vegas PC release, Bethesda is rapidly losing me. I didn’t think that was possible.
The graphics don’t look much different to me, even after watching the videos and playing it myself; it feels similar to the first Switch. I can forgive the 30fps and the older art style. What really put me off was the input lag, which is especially bad when trying to move the camera while walking. I like to look around in an open world game, and that was a major disappointment. After losing sleep waiting to install it, that was a real letdown.
The game ran at 30 fps on PS4 and Xbox One. It only achieved 60 fps on the current-generation consoles.
The Switch 2 is certainly capable of running Skyrim at 60fps, as it handles more demanding games at that frame rate.
Bethesda used to be my go-to as a young gamer. Fallout 3, 4, and Skyrim were all-time favorites, and I was always excited to play them. I was really hoping to dive into this one too, since it’s been years, but my standards have changed and I just can’t see myself enjoying it in its current state. I’ll wait for the day it hopefully comes to 60fps on a Switch 2. I genuinely want to play it.
I understand. If you have access to another platform, I’d recommend getting it there. Alternatively, wait for a deep sale—the base version has dropped to around $19 USD before.
It’s disappointing when even someone with low expectations feels let down.
People keep buying the same game at full price. Blame them.
I blame Bethesda for lacking standards. Blaming random people only perpetuates gaming toxicity, which isn’t helpful. I prefer holding the developers accountable—it may not always work, but it’s a more constructive approach.
Even as someone who is easy to please, I’m disappointed in Bethesda. The Switch 3 will finally support 60fps Skyrim.
Forty. That’s the number.
After today, I’m not so sure about that.
With frame generation and DLSS 3.0 upscaling, the game runs smoothly.
I’m not a specialist, but I saw a discussion on Twitter about why the game isn’t running at 60fps. The explanation seemed to be related to the game engine and its underlying architecture—something about core utilization and how the game was built.
The gist is that you can’t simply take an older program, put it on modern hardware, and expect top-tier performance. Games are designed with specific hardware limitations in mind, and upgrading the hardware doesn’t automatically upgrade the program.
Personally, I’m also disappointed, mainly due to the input delay. I don’t particularly care about 30 versus 60fps, but the delay is a real deal-breaker for me.
Regarding the comment that the update “only exists to part people with their money”—the update is actually free.
This game runs at 60fps on other hardware. There’s no excuse when we have other games that can run at 4K/60fps.
The game runs at 60fps on other consoles, and the Switch 2 isn’t that much less powerful, so I don’t find that excuse convincing.
Also, the upgrade is only free if you already own the anniversary content from a year or two ago. If you don’t own that, you have to pay. It’s not free for everyone, just for those who owned the base game plus that DLC.
I’m not a specialist, so I can’t in good conscience say they just “can” do something I barely understand. Maybe it’s true and they can’t, or didn’t try hard enough. Maybe it isn’t, and they’re just making excuses like Square Enix did with Game Key Cards.
I’ll try to find those tweets again, because they went into detail explaining why the 30 fps lock isn’t surprising. They also mentioned that even the PS5 version has frame drops during dragon fights.